"Strong support for the development of tourism in Panama"

The Amador Cruise Terminal built by Chinese enterprises was officially opened - "providing strong support for the development of Panama's tourism industry" (the first scene of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road")

　　Drive southwest along the Amador Causeway in Panama City, the capital of Panama, and the tourist destination of Perico Island gradually comes into view. The terminal of the Amador Cruise Terminal (pictured, photo by Wang Xuguang), built by China Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd., resembles a large ship standing on the Pacific coast. Bathed in the morning sun, the Emerald Princess cruise ship is quietly docked in front of the terminal. Under the guidance of the staff, passengers from the Emerald Princess stepped onto the dock in an orderly manner to board the buses waiting outside the terminal and transfer to various destinations in Panama City.

　　"Will significantly improve the quality of Panamanian tourism operations"

　　On March 26 this year, the Amador Cruise Terminal was officially opened. At the inauguration ceremony, Panama President Ma Cortizo said that the Amador Cruise Terminal project strengthens Panama's competitive advantage as a regional connectivity center in Latin America and plays an important role in promoting Panama's economic development.

　　"Since the partial opening of the terminal in November 2021, cruise ships have been calling almost every day, especially during the peak tourist season from November to April. Hussey, a staff member of the wharf, told this reporter, "After the official opening of the wharf, it has become busier than before. ”

　　Le Li, executive general manager of China Harbor Americas Regional Company, told reporters that the official opening of the terminal means that the entire Amador cruise terminal project has entered the final stage. At present, the project department is organizing workers to work overtime to carry out the interior decoration of the terminal building and the paving of the surrounding roads, and strive to achieve the full completion of the project in July this year.

　　The reporter saw at the scene that workers were carrying out road paving and greening construction on the wharf. "After the cruise terminal project is fully completed, more tourists will come to Panama through the Circle of the Caribbean and South Pacific routes. Leli expects that from 2023 to 2024, the cruise terminal will dock 48 cruise ships, and the cumulative number of tourists will exceed 120,000.

　　In June 2017, China established diplomatic relations with Panama. In November of the same year, the two countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Jointly Promoting the Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, making Panama the first Latin American and Caribbean country to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with China on Belt and Road cooperation. The construction of the Amador Cruise Terminal gave Panama the first cruise terminal on the Pacific Coast.

　　It is reported that the terminal building covers an area of more than 15,000 square meters, which can dock two cruise ships at the same time and undertake many tasks such as receiving tourists, cruise ship maintenance and ship replenishment. "This is an attractive terminal that will enrich the cruise tourism routes in Panama, provide more options for visitors to Panama and provide strong support for the development of Panamanian tourism. Guillien, director of the Panamanian Tourism Board, said.

　　Iván Eskildesson, former director of the Panamanian Tourism Board, said that the Amador Cruise Terminal is an important layout for the development of the Panamanian government's tourism industry, "the completion of the project will greatly improve the quality of Panamanian tourism operations, and the terminal itself will become a new urban landmark in Panama City."

　　"I often think about the time I spent working with Chinese masters"

　　"Since the construction of the terminal started in 2017, the project team has overcome many difficulties and completed the main construction of the terminal with quality and quantity. Looking back on the construction process of more than 6 years, Wang Chao, the chief engineer of the project, is full of emotion.

　　During the peak period of the construction of the Amador Cruise Terminal project, an average of nearly 1,000 local jobs were created every year, bringing long-term stable income to hundreds of families. "Last March, the Panamanian Ministry of Labor presented an award to the Project Department for our outstanding contribution to job creation and workers' rights. Wang Chao said that the award is the highest level of labor management and engineering safety in Panama, and it is also the first time that a Chinese company has won this award.

　　"I often think about the time I spent working with Chinese masters. Kevin, a Panamanian worker who used to work as an electrician on the project, told reporters. As one of the local workers recruited in the early stages of the project, Kevin had no experience in the construction of a large cruise terminal before coming to work on the project. "In order to help everyone grow as quickly as possible, experienced Chinese masters provide guidance starting with basic skills. Kevin said that with the help of Chinese experts, he has mastered skills such as electrical equipment repair and installation, circuit troubleshooting and repair.

　　According to reports, at the beginning of the project, the shortage of materials was the main bottleneck hindering the construction process. Due to the huge demand for project steel, it is difficult to find enough steel in the Panamanian market for a while. If it is imported from neighboring countries, it will inevitably delay the construction period. In order to solve this practical difficulty, the project team conducted several rounds of communication with the owner, hired a professional third-party organization to carry out a material replacement study, carefully compared the main performance parameters of the two materials, and helped the owner choose the more ideal materials with detailed data and sufficient demonstration. Wang Chao said that after adopting this plan, the project team greatly shortened the construction period and saved about 30% of the steel cost, which was highly recognized by the owner.

　　"It has played an important role in the conservation of biodiversity"

　　Tourism is an important pillar of Panama's economy. The picturesque island of Perricó, where the Amador Cruise Terminal is located, is a popular sightseeing destination for both domestic and international visitors to Panama. How to protect the ecological environment of Perico Island during the construction process was an important consideration for the project team.

　　"Perico Island is home to more than 20 species of creatures, including sloths, armadillos, raccoons, iguanas, and more. Zhu Zhiming, manager of the project safety management department, said that the project team carried out ex situ protection of wild animals in accordance with the regulations of the Panamanian government to ensure the survival and reproduction of wild animals. "We have hired local wildlife experts from Panama to educate the project workers on wildlife science and ecological conservation, and to relocate the wildlife within the project construction area to the reserve. ”

　　As a biologist on the project team, Maria Christina Black has witnessed and been deeply involved in the ex situ conservation of wildlife together with her Chinese colleagues. She remembers the experience of both parties working together to rescue the sloth cubs.

　　"One day in April 2022, the project environmental engineer told me that they had found a sloth under a tree near the project area. Upon arriving at the scene, we discovered that it was probably a pup that had slipped from the arms of a sloth mother. Blake said that if the cubs were sent directly to the sanctuary, as was customary, it would not survive at all. To do this, she and her colleagues handed over the baby to a nearby animal protection society, where it was fed and released into a suitable environment. "Since the start of construction, the project team has migrated nearly 500 animals," Blake said. During the construction period, Chinese enterprises have been actively fulfilling their social responsibilities for environmental protection, playing an important role in the conservation of ecological diversity, and setting an example for other foreign-funded enterprises. ”

　　In order to maintain the natural environment of the project site, the project team also replanted the felled trees in the construction area according to the ratio of 1:10, and collected the waste oil and contaminated soil generated during the construction process and handed them over to professional institutions for treatment, and carried out water quality testing of drinking water and seawater at the project site every three months, and carried out comprehensive testing including water quality, equipment vibration, noise, dust, emissions and other indicators every six months. "The island of Perrico is known for its natural beauty, such as the blue Pacific Ocean and lush vegetation, and the ideal effect we wanted to achieve was the icing on the cake. Le Li said.

　　(Panama City)